Marcela Di Blasi discovered romantasy the way millions of others did: alone during the pandemic, craving stories that felt both escapist and urgent.
“Romantasy, for me and many others, became the answer to the chaos and uncertainty of that time,” says Di Blasi, an assistant professor in the Department of Latin, Latino, and Caribbean Studies.
The genre she found—a hybrid of fantasy and romance—tells stories of magic, love, and resistance, often centering young women who fall in love while organizing against oppressive regimes and imagining alternative futures. That appeal resonates even more deeply today amid an ongoing loneliness epidemic, fraying social bonds, and sharp political divides over gender norms. Desire is a driving force in these narratives, imagining how people build relationships and communities even as they confront violence, fascism, and political collapse.
The readers enchanted Di Blasi as much as the stories. Following romantasy communities online, she encountered fans offering sharp insights, elaborate character costumes, and “unguarded engagement” with one another.
Her forthcoming book, Love and Other Worlds: The New American Fantasy, examines what romantasy’s success reveals about our cultural moment, particularly how authors, readers, and characters of color reclaim love, pleasure, and even “happily ever after” as forms of resistance. In her course Reading Romantasy, students explore how the genre imagines power, resistance, and alternative futures.
Here, Di Blasi shares five romantasy must-reads that run the gamut from crowd-pleasing favorites to hidden treasures worth discovering.
For the novice
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
“This is a good introduction to the genre and fan culture,” says Di Blasi. “It’s a wildly popular propulsive read set in a dragon-riding academy that features popular tropes, such as ‘shadow daddy,’ enemies to lovers, and forced proximity. Imagine a hybrid of Top Gun and Harry Potter with a quick pivot from hating to yearning. The book is typical in terms of including a little vanilla sex within the narrative as well as a coalescing political rebellion.”
“Bonus,” she adds. “Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Productions, is developing the series into a show.”
An underrated gem
The Hollow Crown series, featuring Incendiary and Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova
“This young adult series is inspired by Inquisition-era Spain,” explains Di Blasi. “Detailing the relationship between colonization and memory, Córdova tells a story about imperfect resistance movements, unlikely heroes, and a delightful romance built through forced proximity. It is a beautiful example of how romantasy integrates the developing romance with the plot in an enriching way.”
Before it was cool
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
“Published in 2001, this novel enjoys a cult following,” says Di Blasi. “Set in a sprawling world and told from the perspective of a courtesan spy, this very queer series is also a meditation on kink. The heroine is magically gifted with experiencing pain as pleasure and moves through the world coveted by sadists. Both epic high fantasy and narrative of political intrigue, Carey has influenced almost all of the fiction we now call romantasy.”
Leaning into feminine rage
Gild by Raven Kennedy
“The first in the Plated Prisoner series includes the most spectacular scene of revenge that I have ever encountered in literature,” Di Blasi admits. “This re-imagining of the King Midas story includes portals, fae, evil conquerors, secret identities, and—hear me out—a ‘rot daddy.’ As a whole, this series includes more sex on the page.”
“Bonus,” she adds. “This is a completed series.”
Finding magic in U.S. history
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
“This novel is the first in an addictive young adult series set in our recognizable world—University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in fact,” says Di Blasi. “Imagining how a descendent of King Arthur navigates a college campus brings together the history of North American enslavement with the reality of racism in genre fantasy fan culture. It's action-packed, with competing magic systems, demons, secret cabals, and yes—a ‘shadow daddy.’ Like most YA, this series does not include as much sex.”